Archive for January, 2010
Eve Pearlman: Class size reduction on the chopping block
The number of students in most public school classrooms in California (at least in kindergarten through third grade) has been locked in at a maximum of 20 children per class since 1996, when Gov. Pete Wilson launched the popular ‘class size reduction’ program. (Though even with this program, California has ranked 48th among states in [...]
Real Estate Roundup by Sharon Alva: Should I stay or should I go?
In 2005, you bought a property for $600K and took one of those fancy 100 percent loans that let you pay a minimum payment smaller than “interest only.” So now your debt is well over $800K and the property is worth $650K. And you can’t meet the payments on the property once it adjusts in [...]
Posey Tube reopened after flooding
Updated 1:30 p.m.
The Posey Tube has reopened after reopened after early morning flooding, and cleanup crews are mopping up the rest of the mess.
A 12-inch water main broke, causing flooding that was reported at around 3 a.m. and leading to the Tube closure, East Bay Municipal District spokesman Charles Hardy said. Hardy said crews worked [...]
AT&T installs U-verse service
AT&T is installing service cabinets that will allow them to deliver high-speed digital television, phone and Internet services across the Island. An AT&T rep said installation of the cabinets, which would deliver the company’s U-verse service via fiber optic cable, has begun in earnest and will continue into 2011.
The company’s new service would compete with [...]
Your weekend: Diamonds, dancing, drinking
Looking for a little local fun – and a chance to support your local schools? Two local schools are holding fundraisers over the next two weekends that you may want to check out.
On Saturday, Nea Community Learning Center’s got Motown and Margaritas, a fundraiser for the school’s budding music program. The event, which takes place [...]
City to study funding school sports field upgrades
City leaders are set to explore ways to partner with the school district to upgrade its high school athletic fields. A plan on how to move forward could come in May.
City Councilman Frank Matarrese asked his dais-mates to consider directing city staff to explore the idea, saying the upgrades are badly needed. Matarrese said he’d [...]
I am a Twit!
Just wanted to drop you all a quick line to let you know that The Island is now on Twitter! So tell all your short-attention-spanned friends that they can find me – and get those ohsobrief news updates – by searching for @IslandMichele. (Was that more than 140 characters? Hope not.)
Also, we’re working on expanding [...]
‘Status quo is not an option’
The Board of Ed was scheduled to consider the district’s final draft of its master plan for the next five years, but it’s not quite done yet (tough to do your financials without a CFO, though compliance director Robert Shemwell was officially shuffled into the job Tuesday night) and what has been completed went out [...]
In their own words: John Knox White on the Oakland Airport Connector
Just over a week ago, the Federal Transit Administration alerted BART to the fact that their Oakland Airport Connector (OAC) project, the pet project of Alameda’s BART representative, Carol Ward Allen, was out of compliance with mandatory civil rights regulations. Their unusually strongly-worded letter, addressed to both BART and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, the agency [...]
The Blotter
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Monday, January 18
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GRAND THEFT: Police are looking for the person or persons who broke into a vehicle parked on the 3200 block of Central Avenue and stole a laptop and purse valued at $1,110. Police said that sometime between 8 p.m. January 17 and 9:15 a.m. today, someone shattered the vehicle’s passenger side window [...]
Comment: What’s the Point?
I had hoped to have an editorial for you this week that would tell you whether to vote for or against Measure B. But the truth is, I’ll be sitting this one out. Because it has become crystal clear to me that the city has decided that they’re going to do whatever they want on [...]
